Questions & Answers about Hvern grunar þig?
Why is 'you' translated as þig (accusative) instead of þú (nominative)?
This is the quirky subject at work! The verb gruna (to suspect) requires the person doing the suspecting to be in the accusative case. So, instead of the standard nominative þú, you must use þig.
Why is the question word hvern also in the accusative case?
Gruna is a special verb that takes two accusatives. The person suspecting is in the accusative (the quirky subject, þig), and the person being suspected is also in the accusative (the object, hvern).
If þig (you) is the subject, why isn't the verb conjugated in the 2nd person?
In Icelandic, verbs only agree with nominative subjects. When a sentence has a quirky subject in the accusative or dative case, the verb always defaults to the 3rd person singular. That is why it stays as grunar here instead of taking a 'you' ending.
How does the word order work in this sentence?
Because this is a question, the question word Hvern comes first. The verb grunar takes the second position, which pushes the quirky subject þig to the end. Even though the word-for-word order looks like 'Whom suspects you?', the grammar rules tell us it means 'Who do you suspect?'.
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